Warlock

1959. USA. Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur, based on the novel by Oakley Hall. With Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone, DeForrest Kelly. “Thinking of weddings can lead to a funeral,” Anthony Quinn observes in this supremely underrated CinemaScope western of the late 1950s, which is filled with deliciously unsubtle Freudian complexities and homoerotic tensions to rival those of Brokeback Mountain. The cast is uniformly excellent, with Fonda a standout as the vigilante hired by the cowardly citizens of Warlock to protect them from a murderous gang; the neurotic, club-footed Quinn as his special “friend”; Malone as a vengeful widow; and Widmark as a guilt-ridden killer who seeks redemption. A portrait of cowardice, betrayal, and mob rule, the film powerfully alludes to Dmytryk’s tortured experiences as a member of the blacklisted Hollywood Ten who was imprisoned and who then named names. Preserved by Twentieth Century Fox. 122 min.

Survival City

1956. USA. Directed by Anthony Muto. A breathtaking and harrowing look at the effects of atomic testing on a mock-up town in the Nevada desert, shot in CinemaScope and awarded an Academy Award for Best Short Subject. Preserved by Twentieth Century Fox. 10 min.

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